This invention is for a pressure regulator that has a metal filter interposed in the regulator body between the regulator inlet and outlet.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,125 to Dowdall discloses a pressure regulator having a filter in the regulator housing to filter out dust in the fluid flowing from the inlet to the valve seat. A valve member is mounted to the diaphragm to extend through the valve seat and has an enlarged portion abuttable against the valve seat to block fluid flow therethrough until the pressure in the outlet falls below a preselected level.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,438 to Nimberger there is disclosed a pressure regulator having a piston resiliently urged downwardly in the regulator body to resiliently retain a dart in engagement with a disc. The dart extends through an end portion of a nut that may be hex shaped. The disk is abuttable against the nut valve seat to block fluid flow from a high pressure inlet to the outlet. A filter assembly is threaded to the regulator body to have fluid flow from the regulator body inlet, then through the filter assembly and thence to the nut.
In order to make improvements in pressure regulator assemblies with filters, this invention has been made.
The pressure regulator assembly includes a regulator body having a control chamber, a bonnet having a bonnet chamber opening toward the control chamber and a flexible diaphragm separating the bonnet chamber from the control chamber. A spring assembly and a piston in the bonnet chamber resiliently urge the diaphragm to extend into the control chamber. A filter housing in the control chamber is mounted to extend between the diaphragm and bottom wall of the control chamber and mounts a valve seat to open to a central aperture of the housing, which in turn, opens to the diaphragm. A valve stem is mounted to the piston, extends through the central aperture and has an enlarged diametric portion abuttable against the valve seat to block fluid flow from the inlet passageway and through the valve seat to the central aperture. The housing has a recess opening to the diaphragm and in which there is mounted a filter. The regulator body has an inlet passageway opening through the bottom wall and the valve seat to the central aperture. The regulator body has an outlet passage opening through the bottom wall to have fluid that flows from the central aperture and through the filter to exit from the regulator body.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide new and novel means for mounting a filter in a pressure regulator. Another object of this invention is to provide for a pressure regulator, new and novel means for filtering fluid and the mounting thereof in order to reduce the space required for the filter means. Still another object of this invention is to provide new and novel means for mounting a filter to filter out undesirable material (particle contamination) in the fluid after it has flowed through a valve seat. In furtherance of the last mentioned object, it is an additional object of this invention to minimize turbulence of the flow through the pressure regulator.